Bat virus receptor studies vital to predict spillover risk

New research shows that the closest bat virus relatives of the human Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) coronavirus efficiently bind to bat ACE2 receptors as an entry point into these cells. These receptors have some ...

Asiatic hard clams can synthesize antibiotics

Clams and other invertebrates often live in habitats with dense bacterial populations, despite lacking adaptive, lymphocyte-based immune systems. How clams resist bacterial pathogens in the environment is unclear.

New research finds that viruses may have 'eyes and ears' on us

New UMBC-led research in Frontiers in Microbiology suggests that viruses are using information from their environment to "decide" when to sit tight inside their hosts and when to multiply and burst out, killing the host cell. ...

When does resistance to toxins evolve in animals?

Does a snake die when it bites its lip? Why will a mongoose survive a scorpion's sting, but we humans perish? These questions occupied the minds of toxin-enthusiasts and Master's students in Biology Jory van Thiel and Roel ...

page 2 from 7